- Jun 19, 2012
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I consider it a hobby, I have around 110 chickens,
14 turkeys
15 guineas and I free range them over my entire 13 acres..
I might have exaggerated the number slightly. But to cover 13 acres would cost a lot and for the few birds I have it would not make sense.
I do have "cover" items placed all over the main chicken areas for them to run under. Old Pick up toppers are cheap and make good protection from birds and rain storms.
I also have some old deck railings I have got from people that are redoing theirs. They make great protection and give the chickens something to climb on.
Well...comparatively, that's no skimpy operation. I only have 7 chickens now. I started raising (4) chickens and (8) ducks about 4 years ago on 130 acres and they never strayed far; always staying between the house and the barn which were about 50' apart. Do your birds range all 13 acres?
I'm guessing that's where you'll find the greatest concentration of chicken poo bombs as well!
I have a question. I'm about to move onto five acres of mostly wooded land in the Pacific Northwest (south end of Camano Island - about half as much rain as Seattle but still pretty green). I want chickens only for eggs and I want to free-range as much as possible for two reasons: taste and feed cost. I'm guessing I'll have to feed them in the winter but in the warmer months it'd be great if they could live entirely or nearly entirely off the land. I plan to cull my hens at 2-3 years of age to increase overall production. I'm thinking of trying out Hamburgs, Leghorns, and Easter Eggers to see who can produce the most with the fewest losses to predators (hawks, coyotes, our own cat). I may have to resort to larger hens, not sure. My question is, how many chickens can my five acres support that way? It's just me and my husband but we eat a lot of eggs, therefore I'd like to keep about 20 layers so there's enough eggs even in winter (I plan to put a light in the coop). There won't be any other livestock grazing. Is this realistic?